


More Tea with Friends

by Cornerofmadness



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Malcolm Bright Gets a Hug, Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28543638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness
Summary: Edrisa knows Malcolm is having a hard time and she wants to help.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2021





	More Tea with Friends

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Not mine, Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver owns it
> 
> **Notes:** Written for classics_lover for the prompts Prodigal Son, author's choice, Tea and Empathy (M*A*S*H)

Malcolm sat back in the hospital chair, having given his ankle bracelet to his bed restraints and snuck out of his loft. He hoped to be cleared of Eddie’s murder soon but he couldn’t leave Gil lying in this hospital bed by himself until that nebulous time arrived.

Gil slept at the moment. He slept most of the time Malcolm was there. In that time period, his mother had come and gone. JT and Tally pretended not to see him and he knew it was only a matter of time before Dani showed up. No one was willing to let Gil be by himself.

Hearing someone in the hall, Malcolm shut himself up in the bathroom hoping if this wasn’t a friend, they wouldn’t be there long. He spotted Edrisa through the crack in the door and slipped back out. She beamed at him.

“I was hoping you were still here,” she said very quietly, especially for her. “JT texted me you were visiting. I knew you wouldn’t be here long but I wasn’t sure if you would let me in the loft.”

“Of course, I would,” he replied but he wasn’t sure she even knew where he lived unless one of the others told her.

“I just thought you could use a little company yourself. You’ve been through too much too fast,” she said, sympathy lacing her words.

He grimaced, casting his gaze to the floor. Eve’s betrayal and death, framed for murder, his father in Riker’s, Gil’s stabbing, Ainsley’s brutal attack, been through a lot was an understatement. “I appreciate the thought.”

“And I’ve brought you something.” She hoisted up her canvas bag.

“Oh?” He gestured for her to sit. He picked up the smaller of the chairs and moved it closer to the more padded chair.

Edrisa took out three travel mugs and a huge thermos. “I okayed it with Gil’s doctor. He’s allowed some if he wakes up. It’s sencha with rose and lavender petals.”

Malcolm raised his eyebrows, settling down next to her, curious. He was so used to Edrisa being loud and flirty, he hadn’t expected her to be so serious. This was the toll for being his friend. He brought pain to everyone. He fought to block those thoughts. “I’ve not had that before.”

“You might like it.” She poured some tea into both of their travel mugs, filling them half way. “I have sweetener in the bag if you want it. Crystalized honey and sugar packets. I’d like one of the honeys if you want to get them out.”

He did so, taking one for himself and extracted wooden stirs as well. “It smells very good.”

“I love it.” 

Malcolm tasted his. Edrisa had brewed the green perfectly, keeping it from getting that bitter aftertaste it sometimes got. The scent of rose and lavender toyed with his senses. He took a bigger drink, letting his eyes close. “This is excellent.”

“Good. I can give you the blend, if you want. Green tea and lavender both contain chemicals that are good for decreasing anxiety. You could use that even before all the bad things started happening.” Her dark eyes met him and he could see concern for him. 

He nodded, unable to find words to express his appreciation, a rarity for him. 

“I know I’m not the first person you probably think of when it comes to talking to but you have to know I’m always willing to listen.”

“I never doubt that and I appreciate the thought, Edrisa. You’re always so upbeat and cheery that I’d hate to drag you down with my problems.”

She set her mug on the bed tray. “I’m cheery because it’s my way of dealing with all the horrors we see in the morgue on a routine basis. I see the worst of humanity. I see how capricious nature can be. Today I had a twenty-year-old on my table, not a murder like they suspected, a brain aneurysm. Twenty years old and a weak blood vessel pops and that’s all the life you get. If I think on that too much, I’m not sure how I could do my job effectively every day. So I meditate. I drink my tea. I do my puzzles, listen to podcasts, do the things that bring me joy. I wish I had a few more people to do these with but the friends I do have are good ones. I know sometimes I try a little too hard but it feels like I have to just to get noticed. My job creeps people out. They tend to avoid me.”

“I’m sorry and I do know how you feel. People avoid me because of my father. I should have noticed you are on the outside too.”

Edrisa held up her hand. “It’s okay but this is what I like best about you, now that I’ve gotten to know you, Malcolm. You have such empathy for people. When I hear that people say you’re like your father, I know they haven’t bothered to see you for you. A narcissist couldn’t care this much about others.”

Malcolm drank his tea, reining in the pinballing emotions raging in his head. “I was thinking the same about you, Edrisa. You care about the people entrusted to you. Not every medical examiner does. You’re special. You and Dani both. I’m not sure I’ve said enough to either of you how much your friendship means. You see the best in me, Edrisa. Dani thinks I’m not broken beyond repair.”

“I have to agree with her.” Edrisa rested her hand on his wrist. “You’re not broken, Malcolm, not completely. Look up _Kintsugi_ some time, the golden joinery. They use gold or other precious metals to repair precious pottery. In Japanese culture, breakage isn’t something to disguise or hide away. It’s a part of the object’s history. As a philosophy, it can extend to us. Many of us are broken in our own ways but we can repair ourselves.”

“I could use a little gold to glue together all my pieces.” He sighed.

“I have some.” She smiled. “Only today it’s in the form of relaxing tea.”

“And being a good, caring friend.”

“Always.”

Malcolm smiled faintly, draining his tea. “I appreciate it. Feel free to pay me a visit at the loft since I will be there for the foreseeable future.” 

“I’ll bring a puzzle or something you’ll enjoy. You’ll have to tell me the things that bring you joy.”

“I’ll have to think about that. Part of my problem is only the job seems to bring me joy.”

“We need to find you some other outlet,” Edrisa agreed quickly.

“I think you’re right. And I hate to say it, Edrisa, because I’d like to sit here longer and talk to you but…” He set his mug on the tray.

“The longer you’re here, the more chance of being uncovered and you waiting to be cleared while you’re in isolation in Riker’s.” She shuddered. “I don’t want to see that.”

“And I definitely don’t. Do you want me to rinse this out?” He held up the mug.

She shook her head. “I’ll deal with it.”

“Thanks, Edrisa, for everything.” Malcolm stood up and put his hand on Gil’s. He felt a little warmer than the last time Malcolm had been here, his color better. “I wish he could have stayed awake longer.”

“I’ll sit with him for a while. I don’t like him being alone either,” she said, popping to her feet. Edrisa threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. “Go home and stay safe. Call me if you need to talk.”

He hugged her back. “I will and thank you again, Edrisa.”

Malcolm pulled up his hoodie’s hood and slipped on his sunglasses, not much of a disguise but better than nothing. He went down the backstairs and out onto the street to blend into the usual throng of people. It would take a while to get home on public transport but he was going home feeling better. He had a team who cared and it was unfamiliar to him. Malcolm knew he had to learn to trust them as much as he wanted them to trust him. He was close and closer now than he’d been an hour ago. That was good enough for him.


End file.
